The news came at IBM’s Think conference in San Francisco, where IBM showcased the latest ways it’s making it easier for partners to resell its solutions. Software deal registration, IBM said, will give partners priority access to special bid pricing and protect them from being undercut by a rival on an existing account.

SaaS remains a big focus area for IBM since revamping its partner program two years earlier. Jacqueline Woods, Chief Marketing Officer of IBM’s Global Business Partners, discussed the benefits for partners in an interview with CRNtv.

“A lot’s changed in terms of how people want to procure technology and they have to have different models that are available to them. Some are more capital-based and some are more expensed-based. Subscription is an expense-based model and it’s a model that your up-front costs are much less,” said Woods.

One of the ways IBM is making it easier for partners to get on-board with SaaS is through trials.

“It’s a huge opportunity for partners to offer a trial to a prospect and in the sales cycles that trial comes back to them so they can nurture it through and convert it,” she said.

For more of CRNtv’s interview with Woods, watch the video included in this article.